Learn about the Square Word Calligraphy system that writes English words in a square format using Chinese. An Introduction to Square Word Calligraphy expands on the didactic potential of the new script by offering directions for how to prepare ink, hold a brush, and execute individual brushstrokes. In the process of deciphering Xu's text, viewers break down cultural barriers.
Xu Bing has designed a calligraphic system known as Square Word Calligraphy in which English words come to resemble Chinese characters. Like a linguistic breeder, the artist combines Chinese calligraphy with English writing to create a new "species". However, it is different from the nonsensical characters in Book from the Sky which breed feelings of suspicion and confusion in the viewer.
Square Word Calligraphy Xu Bing continued to work with the written word after his move to the USA in 1990. After years of preparation, he created Square Word Calligraphy, which he often calls New English Calligraphy as he transforms English words nearly beyond recognition in the style of Chinese characters. In Square Word Calligraphy, Xu Bing has devised a method of writing English words in rectangular arrangements which resemble Chinese characters.
A code of calligraphic script elements maps to the 26 Roman letters and a relatively simple set of rules for the composition of square words allow one to write English using Chinese calligraphic principles. Square Word Calligraphy is a form of writing Xu Bing began developing in 1993, in which English is written to resemble Chinese characters. This writing system highlights the interplay between Eastern and Western cultures, aligning with Hong Kong's vibrant cultural tapestry.
Square Word Calligraphy - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. Xu Bing developed the original Square Word Calligraphy system in 1994, which fused written English and Chinese by arranging the letters of English words into square shapes resembling Chinese characters. David Kelley later created a modified version in 2012 using a different Sino.
Square Word Calligraphy is a writing system devised by Chinese artist Xu Bing in 1994. Xu's system involves stylizing each letter in the English alphabet to resemble Chinese script. Then, each written word is written in English, but presented in the form of a square, creating a compound character of consistent size reminiscent of a Chinese.
Xu Bing is a conceptual artist whose work often revolves around language, writing, and books. The book Square Word Calligraphy by Xu Bing in Reed's Special Collections consists of an instructional and copybook to teach the audience a kind of writing created by Xu Bing. The calligraphy looks like Chinese characters but is actually English.
Xu Bing: SQUARE WORD. An Introduction to Square Word Calligraphy and Red Line Tracing Book. New York, 1996.
24; 14 pp. Many b/w illustrations. 2 vols.
42x28 cm. Paper. [Hanshan Tang Books of London has stocked copies of «Square Word, with reference code: XU0SW1.] In his more recent work, «Square Word Calligraphy, Xu Bing has devised a method of writing English words in rectangular.